Charita M. Goshay: As the world turns, it also moves on

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May 1, 2017 at 12:59 PMMay 1, 2017 at 12:59 PM

Charita M. GoshayMore Content Now

In what surely is the Worst Idea Ever, Bill Cosby recently announced that he plans to resume his career.The near-octogenarian and blind Cosby told the National Newspaper Publishers Association last week that he’s writing new jokes and plans to get back out on tour.Jokes about what, exactly?The man who went from being “America’s Dad” to a byword for “predator” is making the same mistake many famous fallen people have made:Because they so were mired in their scandals, they fail to notice when the world has moved on.Fame — and the adulation and privilege that go with it — is so seductive, it’s hard for some celebrities, athletes, and politicians to recognize when their moment in the sun has passed. It’s why you sometimes find yourself embarrassed at the sight of people who were once the idols of millions, shilling on infomercials, and cutting ribbons at car washes.Hothouses and Edsels

It’s hard enough to grow old gracefully in a culture that fears it. Granted, we Americans have the collective attention span of microwave popcorn, but it’s probably a safe bet that most folks who hold fond memories of the Bill Cosby they thought they knew, wish he would just stay away.Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly is about to learn the same tough lesson. O’Reilly, who recently was dismissed amid allegations of impropriety involving some of his female co-workers and guests, essentially was pushed out by the sons of network owner Rupert Murdoch who appear to be trying to repair Fox’s reputation as a hothouse of harassment. But why sack their biggest star? Always follow the money. O’Reilly’s liability grew to where it was jeopardizing other deals and thus became unsustainable.But it’s also because our culture has changed. What would have been hooted down or ignored even 10 years ago can cost you everything today.O’Reilly won’t go the way of the Edsel, exactly, but he’s about to be stunned at how quickly the world moves on. Just ask Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann about diminishing returns.John, Paul, and uh...

Power can be a hard thing to relinquish. How else to explain why some people in Washington remain long after their use-by date has expired? They think they’ll be the exception, but no one gets to hang onto power. Death, disgrace, and infirmity loosens the grip of those who used to get their phone calls returned, who once engendered fear — because the world moves on.The world moves on from all of us, which is why we need to take advantage of every moment laid at our feet. We don’t, though. Think of the countless, irretrievable hours we’ve burned away doing nothing, and the opportunities we’ve missed from a sheer lack of will.So, it’s no wonder we’re startled when we don’t recognize the person in the mirror, or when the soundtrack of our reckless youth gets tagged as harmless “old school.” We actually get huffy with kids who have never heard of a rotary phone, or when they can’t name all the Beatles.It’s hard for us humans to accept that the world eventually slips from our grasp; that it should dare to move on without us. But it always does.